Calibration of longwavelength exotech model 20-C spectroradiometer

A brief description of the Exotech model 20-C field spectroradiometer which measures the spectral radiance of a target in the wavelength ranges 0.37 to 2.5 microns (short wavelength unit), 2.8 to 5.6 microns and 7.0 to 14 microns (long wavelength unit) is given. Wavelength calibration of long wavelength unit was done by knowing the strong, sharp and accurately known absorption bands of polystyrene, atmospheric carbon dioxide and methyl cyclohexane (liquid) in the infrared wavelength region. The spectral radiance calibration was done by recording spectral scans of the hot and the cold blackbodies and assuming that spectral radiance varies linearly with the signal

Magnetic monopole and string excitations in a two-dimensional spin ice

We study the magnetic excitations of a square lattice spin-ice recently produced in an artificial form, as an array of nanoscale magnets. Our analysis, based upon the dipolar interaction between the nanomagnetic islands, correctly reproduces the ground-state observed experimentally. In addition, we find magnetic monopole-like excitations effectively interacting by means of the usual Coulombic plus a linear confining potential, the latter being related to a string-like excitation binding the monopoles pairs, what indicates that the fractionalization of magnetic dipoles may not be so easy in two dimensions. These findings contrast this material with the three-dimensional analogue, where such monopoles experience only the Coulombic interaction. We discuss, however, two entropic effects that affect the monopole interactions: firstly, the string configurational entropy may loose the string tension and then, free magnetic monopoles should also be found in lower dimensional spin ices; secondly, in contrast to the string configurational entropy, an entropically driven Coulomb force, which increases with temperature, has the opposite effect of confining the magnetic defects.Comment: 8 pages. Accepted by Journal of Applied Physics (2009

Scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of ornamental plants from Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil

A list of 35 scale insects collected from 72 ornamental plant species in Sao Carlos, Sao Paulo, Brazil is provided. Regarding host specificity, 30 scale insects were polyphagous, 4 oligophagous, and 1 monophagous. A total of 102 coccoid/plant associations are recorded, 29 of which are new host records for the species; 60 are new host records for the species in Brazil. Pulvinaria urbicola Cockerell, 1893 (Coccidae), Phenacoccus similis Granara de Willink, 1983 (Pseudococcidae), and Orthezia molinarii (Morrison, 1952) (Ortheziidae) are recorded for the first time in Brazil. In addition, we describe the injury caused by scale insects on ornamental plants

Ion motion in the wake driven by long particle bunches in plasmas

We explore the role of the background plasma ion motion in self-modulated plasma wakefield accelerators. We employ J. Dawson's plasma sheet model to derive expressions for the transverse plasma electric field and ponderomotive force in the narrow bunch limit. We use these results to determine the on-set of the ion dynamics, and demonstrate that the ion motion could occur in self-modulated plasma wakefield accelerators. Simulations show the motion of the plasma ions can lead to the early suppression of the self-modulation instability and of the accelerating fields. The background plasma ion motion can nevertheless be fully mitigated by using plasmas with heavier plasmas.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figure

Cryopreservation of Byrsonima intermedia embryos followed by room temperature thawing

Byrsonima intermedia is a shrub from the Brazilian Cerrado with medicinal properties. The storage of biological material at ultra-low temperatures (-196°C) is termed cryopreservation and represents a promising technique for preserving plant diversity. Thawing is a crucial step that follows cryopreservation. The aim of this work was to cryopreserve B. intermedia zygotic embryos and subsequently thaw them at room temperature in a solution rich in sucrose. The embryos were decontaminated and desiccated in a laminar airflow hood for 0-4 hours prior to plunging into liquid nitrogen. The embryo moisture content (% MC) during dehydration was assessed. Cryopreserved embryos were thawed in a solution rich in sucrose at room temperature, inoculated in a germination medium and maintained in a growth chamber. After 30 days, the embryo germination was evaluated. No significant differences were observed between the different embryo dehydration times, where they were dehydrated for at least one hour. Embryos with a MC between 34.3 and 20.3% were germinated after cryopreservation. In the absence of dehydration, all embryos died following cryopreservation. We conclude that B. intermedia zygotic embryos can be successfully cryopreserved and thawed at room temperature after at least one hour of dehydration in a laminar airflow bench

Magnetically assisted self-injection and radiation generation for plasma based acceleration

It is shown through analytical modeling and numerical simulations that external magnetic fields can relax the self-trapping thresholds in plasma based accelerators. In addition, the transverse location where self-trapping occurs can be selected by adequate choice of the spatial profile of the external magnetic field. We also find that magnetic-field assisted self-injection can lead to the emission of betatron radiation at well defined frequencies. This controlled injection technique could be explored using state-of-the-art magnetic fields in current/next generation plasma/laser wakefield accelerator experiments.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusio

Spatial-temporal evolution of the current filamentation instability

The spatial-temporal evolution of the purely transverse current filamentation instability is analyzed by deriving a single partial differential equation for the instability and obtaining the analytical solutions for the spatially and temporally growing current filament mode. When the beam front always encounters fresh plasma, our analysis shows that the instability grows spatially from the beam front to the back up to a certain critical beam length; then the instability acquires a purely temporal growth. This critical beam length increases linearly with time and in the non-relativistic regime it is proportional to the beam velocity. In the relativistic regime the critical length is inversely proportional to the cube of the beam Lorentz factor $\gamma_{0b}$. Thus, in the ultra-relativistic regime the instability immediately acquires a purely temporal growth all over the beam. The analytical results are in good agreement with multidimensional particle-in-cell simulations performed with OSIRIS. Relevance of current study to recent and future experiments on fireball beams is also addressed